Croatia Fall 2023
Destination notes/ Daily Itinerary/ Logistics / Deposit and Payment information
Dates: Tour 1 September 9 – 20 2023 (sold out)
Tour 2: September 19 – 30 2023 (9 spots left)
From $2,895
View from the hill overlooking Hvar Town, on Hvar Island.
There are no sufficient superlatives to describe the Adriatic coast of Croatia. The crystal clear deep blue waters lapping upon a coastline filled with ancient history, friendly people, and wines and food unique in the world make a visit here very special. We have done two previous tours to Croatia. This past spring after our Puglia, Italy wine and food tours we decided to revisit Croatia to organize a food / win e / adventure tour similar to our Puglia tour. Combining visits with the must-see cities of Dubrovnik, Split, and Mostar, Bosnia with the unspoiled natural western side of the island of Hvar nailed it: Croatia wine/food/adventure, September 2023.
Included in this tour:
~10 nights lodging in 4-star properties. Five of the nights are on the island of Hvar at a sea-side all-inclusive resort where you will have plenty of free time to relax or add additional activities you desire. 2 nights in Split, 2 nights in Dubrovnik, 1 night in Mostar, Bosnia.
~6 dinners, 2 wine-paired
~4 lunches, all wine-paired
~All breakfasts
~ 2 or 3 wine tastings at wineries
~2 easy half-day guided bike rides (electric-assist bikes), one along the sea and one exploring the interior of the island
~Walking tours of Split, Dubrovnik, and Mostar
~ All private ground transfers
~Ferry rides to/from Split to Hvar Island and return
~Optional day of scooter riding in the countryside of Hvar Island
~Dan and Deb will be there on tour. That is why we do this.
We highly recommend you protect your trip with a Trip Insurance policy.
Please refer to the logistics section following the itinerary section for all air, deposit, payment, upgrades, and cancellation details.
Reviews and testimonials from our 2022 wine club tours to Italy. An FYI of what some of the folks think about our tours. Details
This tour is a good sampler of all that is Croatia… the sea, the wine, the food, the history, and the people. Immerse yourself with plenty of free time to enjoy this wonderful country.
Destination notes
Split Diocletian, one of the few Roman emperors who was not killed and made it to retirement age, decided he wanted to move back to his homeland. He built a massive complex which is now the city of Split. After the empire was finished, the people of the region moved in and lived in what was the emperor’s complex. It grew over the centuries and became a living museum of every architectural style from the age of Rome to present day. The Roman ruins there are some of the best-preserved in the world. And the other styles of buildings cover the gamut of every era of style to present. It is a fascinating seaside city.
Click for gallery of our photos from previous visits to Split.
Diocletian’s amazing palace became the city of Split. Perfectly preserved 4th century Roman ruins NOT restored. These are the original buildings!
Hvar Island The Adriatic coastline of Croatia is beautiful. It has become a playgrounds for the rich and famous. The many islands of the Croatian coast attract people from everywhere. The island of Hvar is going to be our home for 5 days and nights. We stay on the east side of the island which is much less crowded and less touristic. Our 4-star resort is a short drive from the port town of Starigrad. We have structured this portion of the tour with free time so that you can enjoy the sea, the towns, or simply relax. The biggest town on the island is Hvar Town. We will do a full day trip where you can explore on your own after a wine-paired lunch.
Click for our photo gallery* of our 2022 scouting mission to Hvar Island.
* This gallery is requisite for getting a true feeling of what we are offering on this tour. Note that you can click on each photo if you would like to view an enlarged version… same with all our galleries.
Click for gallery of our photos from our first scouting trip visit in 2015 to Hvar Island.
Hvar Town offers shopping, a castle hike, and an included wine-paired lunch. We are doing a day trip to this wonderful harbor.
Option for cycle enthusiasts: Hvar Island has great rides for scooters. There is a road along the spine of the island with no traffic and amazing panoramic views. For those interested, we will rent scooters and ride together for a half day.
Mostar, Bosnia Mostar is an old Balkan city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, straddling the Neretva River. It’s known for the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), a reconstructed medieval arched bridge. The alleys are full of shops and market stalls, and the Old Bridge Museum explores the bridge’s long history. We have not yet visited this town, but our guide and friend, Andrej, told us we must include it on our tour. It is halfway between Split and Dubrovnik and we will visit on the way to Dubrovnik. We will spend one night in a lovely 4-star hotel with wine tasting and a wine-paired dinner in our one night there.
Mostar is considered to be one of the most beautiful towns in all of the Balkan region. We will do a walking tour as well as a wine tasting and a wine-paired dinner.
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik is the most famous city in Croatia. The 16th century fortress city is a must-visit Unesco site. Its spectacular seaside location and its many shops and restaurants make for a fascinating visit. We will be spending two nights there at a nearby 4-star seaside resort.
Click for gallery of our photos from our visits to Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik as viewed by a hilltop fortress built by Napoleon. Reached by a modern cable car, it sports a wonderful restaurant…. a room with a view.
Day-by-day Itinerary
Fly out of USA on either September 9, 2023 or September 19, 2023. Arrive in SPLIT airport following day, September 10 or September 20.
Day 1 Sept.10 & Sept. 20 Your flight from United States (not included) arrives in Split at any time on arrival day. Take a taxi from the Split airport to our hotel in the seaside town of Trogir, a 15-minute ride. Leisure time to recover from the flight and relax at the beautiful 4-star Brown Beach hotel.
Day 2 Sept.11 & Sept. 20 Our charter bus will take us to Split (15 minutes) for a one and a half hour walking tour with a local guide. You will have ample free time to enjoy this wonderful town on your own. Have a lunch and stay for dinner if you choose. Wander around, shop, get lost. Our bus will provide a ride back to our hotel in Trogir before dinner time for those who would like to return and have dinner at the hotel or in Trogir.
Trogir is a wonderful seaside town a short drive from Split. It will be home for the first 2 nights of our trip. Our 4-star seaside hotel is a 10-minute walk to the town center and a short bus ride to Split.
Hotel in Split / Trogir: Brown Beach Hotel 4-Star with spa, pool, and seaside
Click for gallery of photos of Trogir and our hotel
View from Brown Beach hotel, a 10-minute walk from Trogir main square.
Day 3 Sept. 12 & Sept. 22 We take a ferry to the island of Hvar in the morning arriving on the western side of the island at Starigrad. Upon disembarking, we will head to our first meal together: a wine-paired lunch at a seaside café. (They had one local orange cake desert that was so good, we drove 15 minutes back after dinner at our hotel just to have it.) Then, we will check into our 4-star La Branda seaside resort. Dinner is included every night and includes beer and wine.
La Branda near Starigrad is a 4-star all-inclusive seaside resort tht will be our home base for our 5 days on Hvar Island. It is surrounded by the sea and natural beauty.
Day 4 Sept. 13 & Sept. 23 Our first bike ride… We will leave in the morning for a seaside ride on electric-assist bikes for a few hours of riding that you won’t forget. We will ride to the port town of Jelsa, where we will have a wine-paired lunch at an outdoor café. After lunch, you can return with the group to our resort to relax there for the afternoon, or you can opt to spend more time in Jelsa to wander and shop. You then return on your own. (Small additional cost for the extra half day) Dinner at La Branda. Optional DINNER CRUISE this day 5:30 PM.
NOTE ON BIKE RIDE DAYS FOR NON-RIDERS: You will not miss a thing. For those choosing not to ride, we will organize taxi rides to the destination of the bike rides so you can enjoy the meals and activities there.
Our first bike ride is seaside all the way and will take us to the charming town of Jelsa, where we will enjoy a wine-paired lunch.
Day 5 Sept. 14 & Sept. 24 Free time…. Swim in the sea, rent a jet ski, walk and explore, take a day boat tour to nearby islands, lounge by the pool, rent a bike on your own. In late afternoon, we will do our first wine tasting with most famous wine maker in Hvar. We will taste 8 to 10 of his wines. After our tasting, we will drive to Starigrad. There is an old restaurant that has been run by the same family for generations. The building is hundreds of years old. The food is typical of the region and excellent. Each course will be paired with a wine of the island.
Optional all-day lunch cruise 8:30 AM on these days.
The winery in Jelsa produces some of the nicest wine we have had anywhere. We will do a tasting of 8 of these delicious Hvar wines.
Day 6 Sept. 15 & Sept. 25 Day trip to Hvar Town… A scenic ride takes us one hour over the spine of the island to the harbor of Hvar Town. On the eastern side of the island, it is where most tourists visit. It offers shopping, bars, panoramic views, and a nice walk along an ancient fortress wall to a hilltop castle. We will start our visit there with a wine-paired lunch at an excellent restaurant. Free to explore on your own until 6 pm. Then we return to our resort. On the way home to La Branda we will stop at Hora Hvar for our peka dinner. We will start that at 7:30ish. After the dinner, we will return via a short 10 minute bus ride.
Take a peak at your peca here: Foods to try in Croatia: Dalmatian Peka is a slow cooked wonder – RealCroatia
Hvar Town is a nice place to spend a day exploring and enjoying a wine-paired lunch.
Deb takes a break at a nice viewpoint on our bike ride to Starigrad from La Branda resort.
Day 7 Sept. 16 & Sept. 26 In the morning after breakfast, bike ride through the countryside alongside vineyards and panoramic sceneries to Starigrad and back. Afternoon at leisure at resort.
Day 8 Sept. 17 & Sept. 27 We take the ferry back to Split from Hvar Island. Upon arrival, our charter bus will take us on a short drive to the old town of Mostar in Bosnia. We will do a walking tour and some wine tasting. Our lodging for the night will be a 4-star property. That evening, we will have yet another wine-paired dinner.
This bridge is Mostar is in the center of this old Bosnian village where we will do a walking tour, have a wine-paired dinner, and spend one night.
Hotel in Mostar: 4-star in the center of the village
Day 9 Sept. 18 & Sept. 278 On to Dubrovnik… On the way we will do some more wine tasting. We arrive in Dubrovnik mid-day and do a 1.5-hour-walking tour of this ancient city. After the tour, you will have free time to explore the city. Late in the afternoon, we will check into our 5-star seaside resort hotel, about a 10-minute drive from Dubrovnik. Settle in, enjoy the sea vistas, dine on your own at the hotel sea-side or take a taxi back into Dubrovnik and dine there on your own.
In love with this city!
Day 10 Sept. 19 & Sept. 29 Day and evening at your leisure… do exactly what you would like to do all day and night. You can return via a short taxi ride back to Dubrovnik in the morning to spend more time shopping, dining, walking, taking the tram to the panoramic restaurant at Napoleon’s fortress, etc. Or you can choose to relax at your seaside resort and enjoy the spa and the sea. We are in process of organizing a farewell drink get-together at our Ariston hotel bar (t.b.a.)
Hotel in Dubrovnik: 5-star Ariston: beach front, spa, restaurant
Day 10 Sept. 20 & Sept. 30 Fly back home or wherever in Europe you decide to visit after the trip. Everyone will arrange their own taxi transport to get them to the Dubrovnik airport as per their flight times.
Logisitics: The nuts and bolts
Air, Deposits, Room upgrades, Payments, Cancellaton policy
Signed Waiver form required: A condition of trip participation is a signed waiver form returned to us. This will be sent out via email soon.
Deposits ** Please make sure to provide us with your email address(s). We will communicate solely by email for all details and communications pertaining to your tour.
Please include along with your initial deposit all hotel room upgrade requests, including single occupancy.
First deposit to get on board: $700 per person due upon sign up. Deposit is non-refundable. Buy trip insurance once trip minimum size has been reached so that all of you your deposited monies will be protected (see below for insurance link). First deposit due upon sign up, must be before January 15, 2023. Note: Space is limited on both tours. Please deposit as soon as possible to insure your space.
Second deposit of $900 per person by April 30, 2023.
Final payment by June 30, 2023
All payments made to Morningstar as per instructions below.
Note that if the trip does not go because minimum size is not attained, all deposited monies will be refunded in full.
Methods of payment Our goal is to offer quality trips at the best prices we can. Tour price is based on payment by check or Zelle payments (bank to bank). However, it is possible to pay using PayPal on our site, but there is a 3% surcharge to do so. The link for PayPal is on the right side of trip pages.
By check: Mail to Morningstar Tours, Inc. 21080 Oriole Lane Bend, OR 97703
By Zelle: Almost all banks use Zelle. We will give you the directions on how to use that method. There is no 3% charge to use Zella.
Paypal link on home page, but remember that you must add 3% to the amount charged to cover Pay Pal fees.
Air
NOTE: Do NOT purchase air until the trip minimum number of participants has been reached (20). Once this number of deposited people has been reached, you will be given the go-ahead to get your air.
Tour 1: Arrange your own air leaving U.S. on September 9, 2023 to arrive in Split airport any time on September 10. Arrival time is irrelevant as you will take a taxi on your own to our hotel in Trogir for the night of the 10th. Taxi not included in tour.
Tour 2: Arrange your own air leaving U.S. on September 19, 2023 to arrive in Split airport any time on September 20. Arrival time is irrelevant as you will take a taxi on your own to our hotel in Trogir for the night of the 20th. Taxi not included in tour.
AIR AT THE END OF THE TOUR: Tour 1: Arrange your flight to return to States or to wherever you are going in Europe after the tour to fit your needs on September 20, 2023. You will leave from Dubrovnik airport. You arrange your taxi transport to the Dubrovnik airport. Taxi not included in tour.
Tour 2: Arrange your flight to return to States or to wherever you are going in Europe after the tour to fit your needs on September 30, 2023. You will leave from Dubrovnik airport. You arrange your taxi transport to the Dubrovnik airport. Taxi not included in tour.
Room Upgrades* and single occupancy upgrade costs
*Note that upgrade costs listed are for the entire nights of each stay, NOT per night.
Note on Single Occupancy / same-sex roommate requests: Single occupancy always adds to the cost of any tour. If you are signing up for this tour, would like a roommate, but upon signup do not have one, we are happy to make note of your willingness to have a roommate of the same sex and that you would like us to attempt to find a roommate for you. There is no guarantee of success, and you must be willing to pay the single occupancy upgrades should no roommate become available.
Split/ Trogir hotel upgrades
Superior double rooms included in tour price: Double occupancy +$0 Single occ: +$210
Loft double rooms: +$29 per person double occupancy Single occ: +$259
Superior sea view rooms: +$59 per person double occupancy Single occ: +$328
Loft double rooms with jacuzzi: +$89 per person double occupancy Single occ: + $388
Rooftop double rooms with jacuzzi on a rooftop terrace: +149 dbl occ. per person Single occ: +$508
Deluxe twin double room (2 bed room) Double occ use only): + $44 per person
Deluxe sea view twin double room (2 bed room double occ. use only): +96 per person
TRIPLE OCCUPANCY OPTIONS:
Detached from main resort cottage with three beds: +$24 per person above included base room
no cottages available either week
Deluxe Suite with king bed and another separate bed: +$99 per person above base cost
Deluxe Suite with king bed and anotehr separate bed with seaview: +140 per person above base cost
Hvar Island / La Branda Resort
Note: ALL rooms included in tour price are SEAVIEW ROOMS. The only upgrade possible here is for single occupancy.
Single occupancy upgrade for all five nights at La Branda resort is: +279
Triple occupancy
3 person suite, partial sea view, 1 bed, one two-person rollaway -@$25 off base price per person
Mostar upgrade
The only upgrade possible here is for single occupancy. +59
Triple occupancy: -$4 off base room price
Dubrovnik hotel upgrades
SEA VIEW BALCONY ROOM UPGRADE:
The cost is +86.00 PER NIGHT for the double and +98.00 for single occupancy room PER NIGHT. This is per room, per night, not per person. There are two nights in this stay.
Single occupancy upgrade: $279 for both nights total
Triple occupancy: -$20 off base price per person
Currency adjustment possibility: There is a chance the Euro could strengthen between the time of deposit and the time of final payment in January. This is a risk with foreign travel. This could result in an increase in the final payment amount due. This is not anticipated but is a possibility.
Small local room taxes: There may be a small local room tax of a euro or two a night per room. It depends on the locale. These are not included and if applicable, will be added to each room’s final bill, payable individually at checkout.
Minimum group size for the trip to go is 25 participants for the tour to go at the published rate. If the trip is between 20-24, there will be a minimum group surcharge necessitated by the per person charter bus cost increase resulting from smaller numbers of participants. Below is assessment table.
24 participants: $39 / 23: $69 / 22 /89 21: $98
Trip insurance: We highly recommend you purchase a trip insurance policy. It not only covers your trip investment if you have to cancel, but it also provides invaluable medical insurance, evacuation insurance, flight delay, lost bags. We never leave the country without a policy. Protect your trip and yourself and buy trip insurance! Buy it from World Nomads linked on our site,or buy it from somewhere else. Just buy it. We offer this insurance thru World Nomads. Buy coverage as soon as you receive confirmation that the trip has reached minimum level and is a go. That way your money is protected from the start.
Do NOT buy your policy until we have reached the minimum number of participants and give the go ahead on the trip. After we have reached the minimum, THEN buy your policy. You don’t want to pay for a policy until you know for certain the trip is a go.
Cancellation policy: First deposit fully non-refundable. Cancellation after second deposit or final payment has been made will result in loss of original deposit and all unrecoverable funds, to be determined by Morningstar.
Passport note: Make sure you have a passport and make SURE it does not expire within 6 months of your departure date. If it does, you must get a new one before the trip.
Contact data: Morningstar Tours, Inc.
21080 Oriole Lane
Bend, OR 97703
www.morningstarseeskisavortours.com
ph: (520) 405-5508